Personal suffering influenced and shaped the life of Dr. Martin Luther King. Since the beginning of his involvement in the struggle for civil rights and a true freedom for his people, he knew few quiet days. He suffered jailing, bombing of his home, a near-fatal stabbing, and other forms of persecution. In an effort to avoid the image of one who consciously seeks sympathy, or one with a martyr complex, Dr. King rarely discussed these events in his life. For this article, however, he agreed to discuss the effects of suffering on his spiritual growth.

Dr. King found that as he struggled, a support came from the Master, lightening his burdens as he took upon himself Christ's yoke. He determined to respond not with bitterness, but with a desire to transform his suffering into a positive and creative force. Ordeals became...